Delusional
But those tenants said to one another, “This is the heir. Come let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.” (Mark 12:7)
Jesus spoke this line in the Parable of the Tenants. This parable was directed at the religious leaders who had been trusted with maintaining religious devotion to God on behalf of the people. The parable reveals the hostile attitude the religious leaders had towards God. Ironically, the religious leaders would have been seen as the most devoted in Israel. They commanded great respect and even fear. A harsh judgment by a religious leader could decimate your family. You could become an outcast.
Jesus turned this view on its head in this parable. He made a claim that the religious leaders reached beyond their mandate given by God. They stole from God what was rightly His. They then reached such a place of delusion that they assumed they could take the inheritance that belonged to God by killing His son. There was a price to pay for this delusion. Everything was taken away from them.
This parable stirred their anger and a couple days later they murdered the Messiah, all the while believing they were doing the right thing. Many of us will end up doing the wrong thing while believing we are right. Or we do the right thing, but sometimes with a sinful motive.
This is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects for people of serious faith. In the case of the parable, if the religious leaders had stopped to deeply consider what Jesus said, many might have taken a different course. If they had gotten out of the hive minded, groupthink they might have seen what was really going on. Alas, sometimes the price is too high for us to really listen and see the humanity in a person or see what God might be communicated to us through another person.
How do know when you are hearing from God? Does anyone around you have the ability and challenge you and remain a close friend? Do people fear challenging you? How do you respond when someone challenges you? In what areas of your life do you think you might be operating in a delusional spiritual state? How do you learn to take a cautious approach to judging others?
Jesus spoke this line in the Parable of the Tenants. This parable was directed at the religious leaders who had been trusted with maintaining religious devotion to God on behalf of the people. The parable reveals the hostile attitude the religious leaders had towards God. Ironically, the religious leaders would have been seen as the most devoted in Israel. They commanded great respect and even fear. A harsh judgment by a religious leader could decimate your family. You could become an outcast.
Jesus turned this view on its head in this parable. He made a claim that the religious leaders reached beyond their mandate given by God. They stole from God what was rightly His. They then reached such a place of delusion that they assumed they could take the inheritance that belonged to God by killing His son. There was a price to pay for this delusion. Everything was taken away from them.
This parable stirred their anger and a couple days later they murdered the Messiah, all the while believing they were doing the right thing. Many of us will end up doing the wrong thing while believing we are right. Or we do the right thing, but sometimes with a sinful motive.
This is perhaps one of the most challenging aspects for people of serious faith. In the case of the parable, if the religious leaders had stopped to deeply consider what Jesus said, many might have taken a different course. If they had gotten out of the hive minded, groupthink they might have seen what was really going on. Alas, sometimes the price is too high for us to really listen and see the humanity in a person or see what God might be communicated to us through another person.
How do know when you are hearing from God? Does anyone around you have the ability and challenge you and remain a close friend? Do people fear challenging you? How do you respond when someone challenges you? In what areas of your life do you think you might be operating in a delusional spiritual state? How do you learn to take a cautious approach to judging others?
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1 Comment
If it is truely God speaking to me through the Holy Spirit interpeting scriptures or through circumstances lining up according to scriptures, it's probably God speaking to you. As long as whatever I do, I can answer to God and not sense any wrongness (knowing that the Holy Spirit will convict me of my sin), I have no problems with how I'm living.